Liang Xiangyi has become an overnight Internet sensation in China. The reason - a dramatic, very obvious and exasperated eye-roll she gave to a fellow journalist at a press conference that went viral in China after it was broadcast live on state media.
The two journalists were part of the press conference following the annual meeting of China's National People's Congress, where questions are known to be screened and pre-approved. The journalist dressed in red, identified as Zhang Huijun from American Multimedia Television (AMTV), asked a long-winding question, laced with praise for government's initiatives. The channel is known to have a tie-up with China's State broadcaster, CCTV. Liang Xiangyi, who stood besides her, couldn't help but express her disdain. As Zhang Huijun went on and on for nearly 40 seconds, Liang Xiangyi didn't hide how unimpressed she was, as she dramatically rolled her eyes and looked away with disgust.
Watch the moment that broke China's Internet:
While her colleague may have missed Liang Xiangyi's disapproving eye-roll, the Internet certainly didn't. Within hours, her expressions became the talk of China's Internet space, reports Shanghaiist.
Then came the censorship.
According to WhatsOnWeibo, when a colleague told Liang Xiangyi, a reporter from Chinese financial news service Yicai Media, that her eye-roll was witnessed live on television, she didn't seem to care much. In a WeChat conversation leaked online, the reporter said she rolled her eyes because the woman next to her "was being an idiot."
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